Chapter 7 - Five Million Dollars
Rebecca asked to meet privately.
Sofia said no.
Maria went anyway.
It was her first serious mistake.
Rebecca chose a restaurant not owned by Stone Hospitality.
That seemed meaningful until Maria realized Rebecca had rented the entire back room.
No witnesses.
No cameras that Maria could see.
Rebecca poured water.
“You should take the five million.”
Maria sat opposite her.
“You burned my mother’s notebook.”
“I panicked.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew what you would turn it into.”
“I didn’t know what it was.”
“You do now.”
Maria watched her.
“What are you afraid of losing?”
Rebecca laughed.
“You think this is about my inheritance?”
“Isn’t it?”
“No.”
“What then?”
“Twenty-seven thousand employees.”
Maria did not expect that.
Rebecca continued.
“Stone Hospitality has debt. Franchise agreements. leases. supplier obligations. If ownership is thrown into chaos, real people lose jobs.”
“That sounds noble.”
“It’s true.”
“So my mother should stay erased because correcting it would be inconvenient?”
Rebecca’s expression tightened.
“Anna had opportunities to sue.”
“She had no money.”
“Lawyers work on contingency.”
“Not always.”
“She waited decades.”
Maria leaned forward.
“People with power love asking why powerless people waited.”
Rebecca’s eyes flashed.
“You are not powerless anymore. You have television cameras and a viral tragedy.”
“I didn’t set fire to anything.”
Rebecca sat back.
“Take five million.”
“No.”
“Ten.”
Maria stared.
Rebecca’s voice remained flat.
“Ten million dollars. Walk away. Keep the notebook. Say nothing else.”
“Why increase it?”
“Because litigation damages everyone.”
“Half the founder ownership could be worth hundreds of millions.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“There.”
“What?”
“The real number.”
Maria felt anger.
“You think I’m greedy.”
“I think everyone has a price.”
“My mother didn’t.”
“Your mother took payments for twenty years.”
Maria stood.
Rebecca remained seated.
“Sit down.”
“No.”
“Maria.”
Maria turned.
Rebecca said, “Your hospital job won’t survive this forever.”
Maria froze.
Rebecca continued.
“Your apartment lease renews in six months. Your savings are modest. Your attorney fees will increase. Media attention will move on.”
Maria slowly faced her.
“You investigated me.”
“My lawyers perform due diligence.”
“You looked at my bank account?”
“Public and legally obtained information.”
Maria’s hands tightened.
Rebecca spoke softly.
“Ten million changes your life.”
Maria whispered, “And saying my mother lied changes hers.”
“She’s dead.”
The moment Rebecca said it, she knew she had gone too far.
Maria’s face became still.
“That’s why you’re brave around her now.”
She left.
Outside, reporters were waiting.
Too many.
Maria realized Rebecca had arranged the meeting so someone would see her.
Questions flew.
“Did Rebecca offer you money?”
“How much?”
“Are you demanding half the company?”
Maria should have said nothing.
Instead anger spoke.
“If half belongs to my mother, then half should come back.”
That sentence became the headline.
CAFETERIA COOK DEMANDS HALF OF BILLION-DOLLAR STONE EMPIRE.
Stone Hospitality’s crisis team released a statement fifteen minutes later.
It characterized Maria’s case as “an opportunistic financial claim.”
Sofia called.
“You met Rebecca.”
“Yes.”
“I asked you not to.”
“I know.”
“You spoke to reporters.”
“I know.”
“Did Rebecca record the meeting?”
Maria stopped.
“I don’t know.”
By evening they knew.
Audio appeared online.
Rebecca’s voice:
Ten million changes your life.
Maria:
Half should come back.
The clip removed every reference to Anna’s ownership documents.
It sounded like negotiation.
Maria sat at her kitchen table while strangers online called her a gold digger.
Her hospital formally suspended her without pay, citing disruptions and safety concerns.
Leo arrived with groceries.
Maria did not open the door.
“Go away.”
“No.”
“I ruined it.”
“You made a bad decision.”
“They’re not the same?”
“No.”
She finally opened the door.
Leo entered.
Maria sat.
“I wanted to hurt her.”
“I know.”
“I wanted everyone to see her the way I do.”
“And she knew that.”
Maria looked down.
“My mother would have hated this.”
“How do you know?”
“She hated public fights.”
Leo nodded toward Anna’s notebook.
“She also hid a founder agreement inside a recipe book.”
Maria almost smiled.
He placed a hard drive beside her.
“What is that?”
“The complete recording from Rebecca’s restaurant.”
Maria looked up.
“How?”
“There were security cameras.”
“You got them?”
“No.”
“The restaurant owner did. After seeing the edited clip, he contacted the network.”
The full audio contained Rebecca offering five million.
Then ten.
It also contained the threat about Maria’s hospital job and finances.
Most importantly:
Rebecca said, “Anna refused three million in 2019. I’m offering you more than she ever had the sense to take.”
Sofia listened the next morning.
“That matters.”
Maria asked, “Because she admitted Mom refused?”
“Yes.”
“It contradicts the signed settlement.”
“Yes.”
Maria sat straighter.
Rebecca had just undermined her own best document.
But then Sofia received an email from Stone counsel.
Maria’s countersuit had expanded.
Stone Hospitality now claimed Maria’s possession and disclosure of the notebook constituted theft of trade secrets potentially worth tens of millions.
Sofia’s expression hardened.
Maria asked, “Can they take it?”
“Not without process.”
“Can they bankrupt me?”
“They can try to make litigation hurt.”
Maria looked at Anna’s scorched notebook.
May you like
Rebecca had failed to burn it.
Now she would try to bury it beneath money.
